Blog

“In games for awareness, you’re relying on the game first and foremost as an engagement tool. That doesn’t mean it should be vapid or trivial, but that your first goal is to make the gameplay interesting and sticky, so that the issue’s context and importance can be established and reinforced.” – COO of Filament… Read more »

“I hope I give players a sense of how pervasive these potential sources of nuclear risk are. They’re in everyday places and everyday objects. This extends beyond national borders and makes us all connected in ways we may not care to accept.” – Epic Orphan creator Yvette Chin Last month, we launched our… Read more »

For the first time, the majority of the world’s population lives in a city, a trend the World Health Organization says it expects to grow, with six of every 10 people living in a city by 2030. How urban centers manage their resources and waste will determine the future of our world, which is what… Read more »

In attempts to improve the environment, we do things like recycle and use energy-efficient lightbulbs. But what if our responsibilities in — and impact on — our cities’ environments were far greater? In Eskom Energy Planner, players are given complete control over the electrical infrastructure of a virtual city, putting them in charge of managing… Read more »

Quandary, the latest game by the Learning Games Network, allows players to shape the future of a new society while learning how to recognize ethical issues and deal with challenging situations in their own lives. Designed for players aged aged 8 to 14, Quandary is free-to-play online here. Set in a fantastical science fiction world… Read more »

What if there was no such thing as freedom of the press? What would you do if your family was held hostage by a man called “The Great and Honorable Leader” (a dictator who is anything but), and to keep them alive, you had to spread propaganda as widely as possible? The Republia Times emulates these… Read more »

People-eating monsters have taken over the city, and it’s up to you to make it out alive. One catch: you have suddenly become totally blind. BlindSide, a Games for Change Award nominee in the Most Innovative category, gives players the experience of living without sight as they hear their way through a danger-filled city. It is… Read more »

Pictured right: A photo of Rose Schneiderman (Photo credit: Library of Congress). Pictured left: The Chronometer Time Machine, mid-time jump (Illustration by Liza Singer). Get ready to put on your reporter’s hat and enter Jewish Time Jump: New York, an interactive story and place-based augmented reality game created to teach players a part of Jewish… Read more »

Data Dealer‘s popularity is spreading like… well, a rising social networking site or rapidly expanding data-mining company! And it’s effectiveness in raising awareness about privacy issues is why it was nominated for Most Significant Impact in the Games for Change Awards. In this online game, players take the role of a shady data dealer who… Read more »

Wonder City, the companion game to the documentary Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, launched this week with the aim of changing how players visualize power and gender. Just as the documentary examines American pop culture’s attitudes toward powerful women, this online game specifically reaches out to tweens to address the very same… Read more »